Charles Christianson -- All the way back from the edge of disaster

Charles Christianson was on fire in his second slalom run at the 2007 World University Games in Bardonecchia, Italy and less than a second from the finish line when everything in his skiing world changed.

Fifty feet from the end he went down and saw his skiing career flash before his eyes. Coming out of the last turn Christianson tried to get a little extra speed by digging in his left ski and then it happened. "I ended up doing a wheelie right off the course and not finishing," said Christianson.

The Games Committee had set up the slalom to be the showcase event of the downhill competition with live TV coverage and a large and loud crowd, but the only thing Christianson heard while he was careening off the course was a "pop." "I'd heard from other skiers over the years that when your knee goes you can actually hear the pop and that is all I heard even though the crowd was screaming and going nuts because I had a great run going."

The pain in Christianson's left knee was not as bad as he'd expected, but it was scary "I could feel things tearing in my knee and it got really hot and loose."

When Christianson headed to Italy for the 2007 World University Games he was pumped. Having been a member of the U.S. Team at the 2005 World University Games, he knew what to expect and he geared his training to be at his best. He was in great shape. He was ready to take on the world.

In the giant slalom at the Games he notched a sixth-place finish. He felt good on the hill even though the conditions were not great due to abnormally high temperatures that winter.

Unhappy with his first run of the slalom he re-tuned his skis between runs. "The weather was incredibly warm – it was in the 50s that day and the course was not in good shape," said Christianson. "The race officials dumped all sorts of chemicals on the snow to keep it from melting and we ended up with a surface that made it seem like we were skiing on marbles."

Charles Christianson

In re-tuning his skis he put an aggressive edge on them to give him a better chance to handle the course conditions, but that aggressive edge turned out to be a problem at the end of a most impressive second run.  Never one to take it easy, Christianson attacked his second run with his trademark all out assault approach and was putting together the afternoon's best second run until he caught an edge.

Christianson knew his injury knocked him out of the remainder of the Games and denied him a chance to compete on the college circuit  -- surgery was now in his immediate future. Needing to wait at least two weeks for the swelling in his knee to subside before surgery, he decided to get the most out of his trip to the Games and Italy. Christianson likely could have been named Mayor of the Athlete's Village by the time the games ended with his outgoing personality and ability to make friends. He supported his ski teammates, went to the USA vs. Russia ice hockey game, and even found his way to Monte Carlo.

In a situation that is pure Charles Christianson, needing surgery the Anchorage, Alaska native ended up getting seen by the world-renowned Richard Steadman, MD, of Vail, Colo., who is "the knee guy" in this country. Steadman is the one knee doctor that most every professional athlete trusts his or her career to.

Three summers interning with Jack Ferguson in Washington, D.C., working for clients such as Alaska Airlines and other transportation companies, it was Ferguson who got Christianson in to see Steadman, but it was another friendship that got Christianson to Vail. In the nation's capital Christianson had become friends with Ellie Rubenstein who skis for Harvard. When Rubenstein hurt her knee around the time Christianson needed surgery it was Ellie's dad, David, the founder of the Carlyle Group, who provided a corporate jet to ferry Ellie and Charles to Vail.  

Christianson's left knee had suffered the dreaded triple – torn ACL, LCL, and MCL -- and Charles being Charles, he also tore his meniscus. It was not pretty.

Steadman told Christianson to expect the recovery to take 9-12 months, if he was aggressive in his re-hab. Being aggressive in pursuit of a goal goes without saying when it comes to Charles Christianson – he knows where he wants to go and is more than willing to put in the time and effort to achieve his goals.

Christianson is a ferocious competitor who thrives on making the twists and turns of the slalom and the giant slalom into the straightest possible line from the top of the course to the bottom of the hill. There is no in between for Christianson – he is going all out every time down the hill – living on the edge, shaving tenths of a second every chance he gets.

Christianson attacking a gate

It's quite likely that if Christianson had a big lead after the first run of a slalom or giant slalom event he would not know how to ski conservatively to assure victory.

There was a difficult aspect of his surgery and it was more mental than physical. There are two ways to "repair" a torn ACL – you can take part of the patient's hamstring and fashion a replacement or you can use a donor ACL from a cadaver. "It took a while for me to get my head around having a graph from a donor cadaver," said Christianson. "I had this weird dream about it where I was on the operating table and they wheeled in a young donor who had just died in a car accident on I-70, but after that dream I was okay with it."

With a donor ACL the healing process starts slow because at about six weeks the body starts to reject the donated ACL, but once the body accepts it the healing takes off. Assistant Alpine Coach Chip Knight, a three-time member of the U.S. Olympic Team, is impressed with Christianson's recovery from injury in just under nine months. "The typical recovery time for the kind of injury Charles suffered is 12–18 months and he has done it in less than a year, so I would say his recovery has been exceptional." Notes Christianson, "That's one of the advantages of using the donor ACL."

Christianson spent about two hours a day working on re-hab at Williamstown Physical Therapy with Lynn Barry and with the trainers at Williams. "You have to work at it constantly to build up the knee and get the blood flowing into the injured area," noted Christianson. "Sometimes when my knee would feel stiff I would just spin it [ride a stationery bike] because it would work the knee without the impact of running."

In August Christianson headed to Chile to get on skis and see where he was. He was pleased at what he saw and felt. "First it was awesome just to get on skis and get my feet under me," noted Christianson. While in Chile, he ended up coaching a group of USA Juniors from Tahoe. The coaching and the recovering from injury went hand in hand as Christianson was able to look at and improve his technique, while passing on tips and tactics to the younger skiers.

The ski season starts almost the day fall semester begins at Williams. As a Div. I sport (minus the scholarships) the Eph skiers are allowed to start working out as soon as they get organized. Christianson had a little trouble with the early workouts, especially the running and was ever so cautious playing soccer with his fellow skiers and whenever the knee got stiff he spun it until it felt loose.

Christianson is fashioning his best collegiate season yet and this is a guy who has earned All-America honors three times. Heading into this weekend's Williams Carnival, Christianson has won four of the eight Alpine events this winter. He won one event as a first-year and two as a sophomore. He was unable to compete as a junior due to injury.

Christianson placed second in both the slalom and the giant slalom at the season-opening Bates College Carnival and then recorded his first victory of the season at the St. Lawrence University Carnival in the giant slalom.  

On February 1st and 2nd, Christianson won both the slalom and giant slalom at the University of Vermont Carnival, giving him five top-two finishes in six races.

He followed that up with a win in the slalom at the Dartmouth College Carnival in the next competition and a 7th in the giant slalom.

With four wins, two seconds and a 7th-place finish Christianson has recorded seven top 10 finishes in eight races this season.

Knight might be most impressed with Christianson's consistency this winter. "His consistency this season is remarkable in a really competitive college circuit," said Knight.

Ultimately Christianson wants to make the U.S. Ski Team, compete in the World Cup and the Olympics and as of right now he has no other plans for the future. "When I'm all done competing I'll find something that will make me happy and make me feel good, but what that might be I have no idea," said Christianson.

According to Eph head Alpine coach Ed Grees and Chip Knight, Christianson's goals are not beyond his reach. "He's the complete package," said Grees. "He has the base in skiing and the willingness to use it in competitive situations. Charles has earned All-America honors in every NCAA race he has started. He won't be denied. As long as he stays healthy, making the U.S. Ski Team is well within his grasp."

Knight, a three-time member of the U.S. Olympic Team, is impressed with Christianson's consistency this winter. "His consistency this season is remarkable in a really competitive college circuit. The challenge for Charles will be balancing his academic schedule and the schedule of NorAm races and Nationals and transferring his collegiate success and consistency to the larger scene where he will be seen by all of the U.S. Ski Team coaches."

Those coaches are about to see what folks in the Purple Valley have seen for three years from Charles Christianson – passion, aggression, speed and the willingness to go faster and faster.